How to Hug a Deathclaw
by kayceeaych
Summary: What do you get when you cross a jaded merc with an insane vault dweller? Absolute hilarity! Join this reckless survivor on her adventure with the hired help and their shenanigans. Lots of fluff, flirting, and corny jokes. MacCready/F!SS. Rated M for language and sexual content.
1. Chapter 1: A New Pet

How to Hug a Deathclaw

 **-Notes-**

Just wanted to say that MacCready is so adorable! He is just so funny I thought why not put him in ridiculous scenarios? Due to him being the little swearing shit from FO3, I'll be writing him so that he still thinks in profanities, but has to alter his words to make them fit his promise, which I believe would explain why he stumbles over his words. All SS's will be called Sole for Sole Survivor. This is my second fanfic, enjoy!

Isn't your name related to that one manga (How to Hug an Elephant) you may ask? Why yes, yes it is. I absolutely adored the name, but other than being eye catching, it did not do anything with the title which was an absolute shame. Also I love making references.

 **Chapter 1: A New Pet**

"Can we keep him? Please?" Sole pleaded, biting her lower lip and batting her long eyelashes at MacCready, whose face contorted into a horrified expression at the scene unfolding in front of them.

"No" he replied incredulously "is this for real?"

The normally beautifully sunny day would have been a wonderful day to take a stroll together by the creek behind Sanctuary Hills. What he had thought was a cute invitation for a morning walk from a lovely lady quickly disintegrated into the most unbelievable scenario he could have ever imagined.

The ground shook thunderously as MacCready struggled to steady his balance. Dogmeat barked playfully and ran in circles around the young deathclaw as it jumped from bank to bank in a silly game of tag. Currently, he and Sole were standing at the back entrance to Sanctuary Hills, standing on the little bridge over the creek where the two animals just so happened to be playing. When the giant lizard had first came into the clearing, MacCready yanked the gun off his back so quickly that Sole had to physically jump in front of his rifle, waving her arms frantically, so that he wouldn't shoot it. The whole situation might have actually even been funny had they not almost been torn to bits and pieces by these things before.

"Please tell me you're not considering this Boss" He groaned, dreading the answer. "Please tell me that you did not steal that egg."

Sole wiggled her shoulders and widened her eyes at him as if he would fall for her wily charms. Ha! He already did that once today. "C'mon MacCready, he's just a baby. Imagine, we could be the first people to try to domesticate deathclaws. Imagine the possibilities!"

"Domesti-No way!" He crossed his arms in an obvious X.

"We could call it deathclaw farming."

"Noooo" He accentuated in disbelief. He admits he had done some crazy stunts back in the day but this, oh ho ho, this took the cake. MacCready kept shaking his head as he watched the young deathclaw grab Dogmeat in its hands and topple over into the brush, frolicking, like some damn romance novel. "This is crazy. I'm still not convinced that thing isn't gonna rip poor Dogmeat in half."

"You know you want to Mac" She begged, trying to wean him over with cute nicknames. She even tried to grab his hand, that minx.

"No."

"Try your hand at deathclaw imprinting?"

"No!"

There was a pause.

"I named him Cuddles"

"Oh, **hell** no!"

Sole spun around in front of him so that he was looking straight at her. "MacCready pleeease" she whined.

For the first time, he took his horror-stricken eyes off of and his attention away from the deathclaw that was starting to mirror Dogmeats behavior by crawling on all fours to Sole.

He grabbed her by the shoulders, blue eyes boring into hers.

" _Cuddles_?! You couldn't think of a better name for a giant lizard death-trap with sharp teeth and claws? Shoot, Danse would have been a better name!" He exasperatingly interrogated. They stared at each other wide eyed for a moment longer before Sole's mouth curled up and let out a snicker.

Something about her faltered expression melted his resolve. The playful gleam in her eyes sparkled in the morning sun. He sniggered back. Then they both broke into fits of laughter at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Ha ha heh, There-oh man- there's a deathclaw in our backyard. Freaking great!" MacCready threw his hands up in resignation, walking around Sole. "I have officially gone insane!"

"Hee hee" Sole giggled as she hunched up her shoulders and held her hands to her chest like a little girl, watching MacCready walk slow circles around her. He always knew how to make her laugh.

"C'mon, Cuddles isn't the official name yet right? I would like to throw Danse into the running. Look at him, an armored being who likes to kill everything in its path. It's perfect!"

"I dunno, I think he looks more like a Cuddles to me."

The "baby" deathclaw was still fairly large, measuring about 5 feet tall. Compared to other deathclaws, Cuddles was a lighter yellow in color and had much larger eyes than their darker, beady-eyed counterparts. Its claws weren't fully grown in either. They were still dull and short, which is why Dogmeat probably wasn't yelping in pain from the playful swats he was getting from Cuddles. Dogmeat actually looked like the ringleader in their play time actually, as Cuddles attempted to mimic his behavior.

MacCready folded his arms and thought back to that day where they walked that egg all the way back to the deathclaw nest.

* * *

This woman had to be absolutely insane! She was the boss, so he went with it, but this is definitely not how he expected his work to go. That day, a low fog covered the ground like a transparent blanket. It was difficult to walk through all the moss and swamp as they reached the nest. When Sole laid the egg gently back into the mess of a nest, they heard a rumble. Rubble began to fall. Suddenly, a large deathclaw came sliding down the mountain in front of them. They were dead for sure. As if one senile albino deathclaw in the creepy museum of torture wasn't enough.

"Boss!" He had shouted at her, readying his sniper towards the monster's soft abdomen warily. Legs bent and ready for action.

But Sole remained calm, or rather frozen like a radstag in the headlights, as she put her hands up between him and the deathclaw. It didn't seem to be attacking which was a good sign. Normally, it would have been fine at that point to just walk away after doing the good deed for the day but freaking boss just _had_ to try and talk with the deathclaw. Freaking talk with it.

"Uh, good Deathclaw" she took a cautious step towards the creature with a shaky voice, keeping her hand out, like she wanted to pet the damn thing.

"Boss what-what are you doing?" MacCready hesitantly asked her.

She waved her hand frantically for him to lower his voice, "Shh I want to get that claw next to the nest" she hushed. "Go up to that ledge over there, I need you to cover me from a spotting location in case he decides to attack me" she explained through gritted teeth. She pointed to the opposite side of where they were standing at a high mound a few yards away.

MacCready cautiously retreated backwards until he was out of the deathclaws sight and ran up to the vantage point, positioning his rifle. Luckily he hadn't ignited the lizard's chasing instinct. But that still left Sole. His brow furrowed as his muscles tensed against the dirt and weeds he was laying on. Small beads of sweat rolled down the raised hairs on his neck. He watched Sole took a few steps closer out of his scope. No no no no.

"Good boy, stay." She commanded. Like a freaking dog.

Steadying his aim, MacCready grabbed a .308 out of his chest pocked to reload but it fumbled and fell to the ground, mixing in with the damp dirt.

"Shi-crap!" He swore under his breath, tearing his eyes away from the scope as he quickly grabbed the bullet from the ground, shoving it back into the chamber. He rapidly returned his gaze back through the scope. Oh no. Oh no. Sole was gone. But more importantly, so was the deathclaw.

MacCready began to panic as he jumped up onto the ledge to look for them. He was scanning the layout where they had been momentarily before when all of a sudden he heard a:

"GO GO GO!" rapidly approaching from his rear left side. He swiveled around to the sound of her voice as he found Sole making a mad dash past him, followed closely by the deathclaw that knocked him to the side with an _Oomph_ , a few feet from his standing point and into some bushes, in hot pursuit of his partner. The beast roared.

MacCready winced in pain as he unwound himself from the strained position he was in on the ground. Groaning, he grabbed his green hat fastening it on his head when he heard a high pitched squeal.

Sole had the deathclaw chasing her around in circles a couple of yards ahead of him into the clearing, almost comically, as she frantically attempted to avoid its meaty swings by a hairs breadth. She had her pack in her hands which confused him at first, until he saw what she had grabbed. Pulling out a bottlecap mine, she twisted around just enough to toss it down on the ground between her and the death claw as she sprinted away from it. Oh crap….

MacCready jumped out of the way just milliseconds before he saw the deathclaw's foot land right on the mine, covering his ears.

BOOM!

The ground shook aggressively. He didn't dare move until everything had settled down. His ears rang loudly. Unfortunately, he hadn't cleared the blast radius enough to avoid temporary deafening. MacCready then realized that he had been squeezing his eyes shut so he popped them open as they began to focus on the settling dust. When he didn't hear any fighting going on he decided to stand. A hefty layer of dirt covered his tan and olive duster. Great. The chicks all dig grime. He suddenly remembered Sole.

"Hey Boss!" MacCready shouted, although his voice sounded drained and muted in his ears, like he had merely whispered it. He coughed. Even though the dust hadn't fully settled down, he could still make out the silhouette of the downed deathclaw. Well there are better ways that could have gone. At least it was dead. He continued to look around the deathclaw calling out boss's name, but there was no answer. Shit. She was closer to the explosion than he was and probably couldn't hear him.

With knees a little more wobbly than normal, he tried to climb over the little hill the lay to the right of the clearning. Sure enough, there lay Sole, wide eyed and breathing heavily. She seemed to have taken notice of his presence because she turned her body just enough to face him as he approached. She corners of her panting mouth lifted into an open mouthed grin. She was still clutching her pack tightly to her chest. Well she seemed to be okay. This crazy lady.

"y'know boss, I haven't decided yet whether you're a mad genius or just mad." He joked, stifled a laugh as he planted his sniper on the ground as an extra means of support. Sole gave him a blank stare.

"WHAT?!" She yelled. He flinched. Yup, definitely couldn't hear a damn thing. He slung his rifle across his chest again and offered her his hand to get up. She panted a few more seconds before she registered that he was offering to help her up. Shifting her pack to rest in the crook of her other arm, she placed her hand in his as he helped pull her to her feet. Knowing she couldn't hear him, he jutted his chin toward her bag questioningly. Her eyes danced swimmingly, knowing exactly what he meant, as she pulled out the deathclaw's gauntlet thing she had found near the nest. Well that certainly looked like fun.

What he didn't know is that the deathclaw wasn't chasing her for the damn gauntlet. She stole its baby, which in retrospect, made a hell of a lot more sense.

* * *

Now as MacCready looked upon the stolen spawn of a deathclaw and the lovely large expectant eyes of Sole, he began to imagine the insane and chaotic trouble that lay ahead in their future. He was actually kind of impressed they had managed to pull it all off. She did the most questionable things but was always successful in the end. He let out a large and exaggerated groan.

"Fine, I suppose I can tolerate death incarnate, but don't expect me to like it!" He warned pointing a finger at her. Sole yanked her head back and gasped with a cheesy accused expression.

"Oh come now, you haven't even met him yet! He really is quite sweet, follow me!" Sole grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the bank where Cuddles and Dogmeat were now playing a game tug of war with a rather large branch. He noted the placement of her hands on his biceps and grinned cheekily.

"Cuddles!" Sole called out affectionately when they got closer. Cuddles the deathclaw perked its head up and immediately dropped the branch, much to Dogmeat's dismay. Upon seeing her, Cuddles bounded towards her with alarming speed. This gave MacCready quite the startle as he yelped and dove out of the way, toward the hilly side of the bank as Cuddles tackled Sole to the ground. This woman was so lax. She gave such a carefree laugh as her new "pet" looked like it was trying to rip her face off with its teeth. MacCready jumped up and brushed himself off, trying not to appear totally embarrassed.

'Phew. Okay MacCready, you can do this. Be cool. You got this. Baby deathclaw, you can handle it' MacCready thought psyching himself up, trying to convince himself that he wasn't completely terrified of Cuddles.

He gingerly and cautiously crept up to the side of the lizard and leaned his head down just a tad. Sole stopped laughing just enough to grab her pet by the head and squeak out an introduction.

"Cuddles, I want you to meet MacCready. He is a loveable teddy bear just like you!" She nuzzled noses with him.

He laughed nervously, "haha yeah… that's me. Fluffed with the good stuff." Jokes usually made him feel better. At least they cut the tension. Usually. As he leaned down he said, "Hey there Cuddles, how ya doin' buddy?"

As he reached a shaky hand towards Cuddles, the deathclaw stilled and started to emit a low growl. Before he had time to react, it reached out and slashed MacCready across the chest, pushing him backwards in effect. It wasn't enough to draw blood or anything, but it was definitely enough to tear his duster a bit.

MacCready stumbled backwards, obviously taken aback. Sole froze at the sudden attack, mouth dropping. They were more shocked than anything. Then he noticed his new attire.

"Aw this was my favorite jacket!" He complained, patting the torn fabric. Sole cast a concerned look towards him and then back at Cuddles. Her new pet was hunched protectively over her, and continued its low growl, leering at MacCready. It was definitely a warning. Something Sole had never seen him do before.

Before she could ask if he was okay, MacCready sheepishly shrugged his shoulders.

"Umm boss? I don't think Cuddles likes me."

( **Edited** )


	2. Chapter 2: The Merc and the Mother

How to Hug a Deathclaw

 **-Notes-**

Welcome to the first chapter that has all the same familiar dialogue as all the other MacCready fanfics, yay! I try to provide the lighthearted fun MC. MacCready is adorable and needs an adorable story befitting of him~ This is my second fanfic. Please review to let me know if you like it or not, or have anything you think would make it better.

Big shout-out to all the Youtubers whose videos helped me replicate dialogue exactly. Love you all.

 **Chapter 2: The Merc and the Mother**

Sole panted as she wearily trudged on. Her boots sloshed against the puddles on the streets of Boston. Her feet moved slowly, mechanically, searching for a place to rest. Blood slipped down from fresh cuts and dripped on the asphalt as her legs moved with a will of their own. She was half-dead already. Maybe if she had stocked up on ammo instead of pinching caps, things would have been different. Maybe she would not have had to resort to her combat knife once her pistol ran dry, opening herself up to be riddled with bullets.

She had heard rumors about the nearby city of Goodneighbor while she was in Diamond City. It sure as hell sounded a lot closer when described to her. Finally she saw the eerie glow of pink and blue neon lights reflecting off the slick sheen of water blanketing the ground. Finally.

Sole had been travelling alone for a while. Previously she had traveled with Dogmeat, but the whimper he made when shitty raiders kicked him broke her heart. As much as that motherly instinct inspired her to 'tear every raiders' skulls from their spinal columns,' it was difficult getting such a blind-rage revenge on every single one. She didn't have enough money for it, plain and simple. No one told her that the city had gangs of supermutants, raiders, and mongrels holed up every 100 yards from each other. It was so much more impacted than in the country. She though about how she had left her poor doggy back at Sanctuary Hills. Damn. She really could use some backup right now.

Sliding up to the door with the gaudy arrow pointed at it, she pushed it open, summoning every ounce of strength left in her. Hospital. Or food. Something. She needed to find something.

She didn't even get but a few feet when she was intercepted by a sleazy bald-headed goon in a leather jacket with a lit cigarette hanging obnoxiously out of his mouth. Sole was definitely _not_ in the mood for this right now. She spit out some blood in her mouth.

Taking a drag of his cigarette the man approached her, "Hold up, there. First time in Goodneighbor? Can't go walking around without insurance."

Sole narrowed her eyes at him "Unless it's 'keep-dumb-assholes-away-from-me' insurance, I'm not interested" She spat.

"Now don't be like that. I think you're going to like what I have on offer." He coerced. Then he took a menacing step forward, lowering his voice "you hand over everything you got in them pockets, or 'accidents' start happenin' to ya. Big, bloody, 'accidents.'"

Sole held her ground, clenching the combat knife in her pocket tightly. What rotten luck, bumping into such a thug her first day here. She was about to jump at his throat when a gravelly voice interrupted them.

"Whoah, woah. Time out." A man in a….colonial coat, stepped out of the dark alleyways and into the dimly lit brick clearing. Woah, his face looked scarred and burned and his nose was gone. What the hell? "Someone steps through the gate the first time, they're a guest. You lay off that extortion crap."

Whoever this person was, he had presence. The thug before, hunched up his shoulders as soon as he spoke and turned around to face him. The two circled each other like predators.

"What d'you care? She ain't one of us." The bald man quarreled with venom.

The new man opened up his arms wide with fake appall. "No love for your mayor, Finn? I said let her go." He growled

"You're soft, Hancock. You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, one day there'll be a new mayor."

Sole shifted her eyes between the two men suspiciously. Something was going to happen. She could _tell_ , but she didn't know what.

Just as she thought that, Hancock swaggered over to the man Finn. He simply exuded confidence. They were just an arm's length when Hancock spoke up, "Come on, man. This is me we're talking about. Let me tell you something."

Hancock placed his hand on Finn's shoulder and leaned in, like he was going to tell him a secret. Then, out of nowhere, Sole caught the glint of a knife. She had only seen it for a fraction of a second before Hancock buried it twice in the man's stomach. Blood spurted from Finn's mouth as he dropped to the floor, creating a red pool of his own. Maybe if she had more energy, Sole would've been shocked, but it all seemed kinda 'eh' right now. Hancock walked over to where Finn's body lay and placed his boot on his back.

"Now why'd you have to go and say that, huh? Breaking my heart over here." He turned his attention finally to Sole. He took notice of her wounds but didn't say anything. Even in the dark, she could tell he had pitch black pools where his eyes should have been. "You all right sister?"

As he approached, Sole got a better look at his face. It was scarred and creased, like it had been washed with acid or something. What the hell? When she noticed she had been staring rather rudely, she opened her mouth to break the tension.

"Your face. Something…happen?" She blurted out. Dammit. Her and her big mouth.

Her question didn't seem to faze this Hancock however as he curled the area where his lips should be into a wry smile. "Like it? I think it gives me a sexy, king of zombies kinda look. Big hit with the ladies."

Sole just gave him a blank stare, so he further elaborated "I'm a Ghoul, you see? Lot of walking rad freaks like me around here, so you might want to keep those kinds of questions on the low burner next time. Goodneighbor's of the people, for the people, you feel me? Everyone's welcome."

"Of the people, for the people? Oh brother…" she quibbed. Oh shit, her eyesight was fading out. The corners of her eyes started to fuzz out to black, like a vignette. She struggled to keep her head up.

"He he he. I can tell I'm gonna like you already. Just consider this town your home away from home." He chuckled before turning his head down at her and lowering his voice menacingly, like he had done with Finn. "So long as you remember who's in charge."

She barely heard his warning as her consciousness slipped out from under her. She didn't even remember hitting the ground.

* * *

When Sole awoke, daylight was spilling through the windows. She sat up, the sudden movement sent a shooting pain straight to her temples. But her wounds were bandaged and already healing plus she already felt a lot more energetic. But where was she? She scanned the environment. White splintering wood walls, heavily stained carpet, a plethora of chems lying about, and a large American flag in the corner. It looked like some colonial-times legal house. The bed suddenly seemed very out of place to her.

"Ah she finally awakes?" A woman's voice filled the silent room. Sole swiveled around to find a red-headed woman with an edgy hairstyle and combat armor sitting in the corner of the room, crossing her legs. "Hancock will want to see you?"

Hancock? That was the mayor, as she recalled. "Is he the one that brought me here?" Sole asked.

"Yeah. Gave him quite a shock too, collapsing at our front door like that." The woman stood up and promptly strode out of the room. "I'll get him for you."

Sitting and waiting wasn't Sole's style. Hancock apparently hadn't changed her out of her vault suit thankfully, and she found her armor stashed underneath the bed. She was amidst re-arming herself when the door knob turned and the door creaked open. Hancock poked his head through.

"Hey there newcomer. You don't have to get out of here so quickly. You were covered in all sorts of scrapes and bruises; whoever you crossed coming here sure gave you hell." He teased.

She cast him a smile, "No it's quite alright. I really appreciate you doing all of this for me. The woman was-?" she asked, realizing she hadn't even asked her name.

"Fahrenheit. She's the one that took care of you." He replied. "You're at my statehouse."

"Hmm. Yeah it was pretty stupid of me not to stock up on ammo. I guess this is what I get for traveling alone. Thanks for letting me spend the night here Hancock, do you know where I can sell some of my gear at?"

Hancock blinked.

"Oh hon…you weren't here for the night. You were out for two days."

"Two days?! I slept for two whole days?!" Sole's mouth dropped in shock.

Hancock chucked at her surprise "Well doll, what can I say? I must've really left an impression on you if you fainted during our first meeting."

Sole threw her head back, "Pah! Hardly. More like I mistakenly brought a knife to a gunfight. Literally." Collecting the last of her things, she slung her bag over her shoulder and turned around to Hancock who was grinning at her.

"He he, you're my kinda gal. Anyway, near the front of Goodneighbor where you entered there's KL-E-O's shop on the left and Daisy's shop on the right. Should be able to scrounge up a few caps there. On the other side of town you got the Hotel Rexford and Memory Den, which will take you straight to dreamland. Now right below this lil ole place is my lovely little bar, The Third Rail. Just take the steps down and round the corner, you'll see it. Biggest joint in town" Hancock puffed his chest out proudly. Sole put on a sarcastic face but then smiled as he held the door open for her.

"Thanks a lot Hancock, I won't be more than a few days. Going into situations where I have the utmost underhand is my specialty." She swung her arm reassuringly as she neared him.

Following those directions shouldn't be too difficult. If there were two shops to choose from that already was an advantage. She could stock up before heading back to Sanctuary Hills. As she exited the room, Hancock grabbed her arm and pulled her in close to tell her something in confidence.

"Now I know it ain't my place to say this, but rolling up into towns all banged up makes bad men like Finn want to take advantage of you. If you're looking to have someone at your back, we actually have a merc right here in town. Name's MacCready. He's holed up in The Third Rail; wouldn't hurt to check him out."

Sole snorted, "I don't know if he could handle me." Tossing a wink towards Hancock, she broke from his grasp and made her way out into the bright of day in good old Goodneighbor.

* * *

Well she managed to make only about 149 caps. For all the crap she had been hauling around, she definitely thought it would be worth more. Normally she would've haggled up the price but her previous experience with an assaultron almost landed her with a spear through the gut. After buying a safe amount of ammo, she counted her money in her pouch. 312 caps left. Damn she was low. Well now she would really have to be prudent with her caps. Or fish them out of some sorry sod's pocket. Or break into their house in the dead of night as they slept. She wondered what her pre-war self would think of her now. A petty criminal mastermind.

Hancock sure was telling the truth about The Third Rail being the biggest joint in town. It was directly in the middle, dividing the two streets, central to all traffic. If this MacCready fellow was truly a mercenary then he had to be up for hire. He probably wouldn't be more than a few caps, 100 at most. Sole pushed open the rusting metal doors to The Third Rail and was immediately stopped by a bouncer: a ghoul in a tuxedo and submachine gun. They had a rather awkward staring match before he finally nodded and stepped aside to let her pass.

Yuck! The bar smelt like a piss-soaked smokehouse, and she had thought the Dugout Inn was dingy. The ghouls sitting around either cast her jaded glanced or paid no attention to her. Sultry jazz filled the air as a woman in a stunning red dress sang in the corner. Feeling awkward in her new surroundings, Sole went straight for the bar. Perhaps the bartender would know where this MacCready was.

"Whitechapel Charlie at your service" stated the Mr. Handy robot with a British accent. Adorable. He even had a little bowlers cap on, ha! "You gonna order something or what?" Okay not so adorable.

"Just a water please" she replied, internally proud at her first steps toward frugality.

The bartender turned his metal body away to the other end of the bar to take his time in getting her her 'drink.' Even water cost money in this new world.

Damn! She didn't even get a chance to ask him about MacCready yet! Letting out a huff of frustration, she almost got up and followed the robot to the other end of the bar, when her surroundings answered her questions for her.

The usual bar clatter provided a nice white noise, but one irritated drifter's voice rose above the rest, "What? Another one of you mercs looking for MacCready? He's in the backroom." She ghoul thrust a finger towards a door in the far corner of the room for accentuation. Sole swiveled around in her bar stool to slyly watch the situation out of the corner of her eye. Two very large, surly men in military fatigues had at some point entered the room, and glanced at each other before heading toward the direction the woman had pointed in. Their eyes were dark and distrustful. They didn't look like they were here for a good time.

When the two men were out of sight, having descended into the back room, Sole took off after them. Whitechapel Charlie called a 'hey!' as she took off the second he put down her water. She softened her steps to reduce noise as she got closer.

Blurry syllables began to take form into sentences as she slid up the side of the doorway, eavesdropping against the wall. From her perspective she could only see the backs of the two large men she had seen at the bar.

"Sh…ake…tside?" said the first voice. From the acoustics, it sounded like it had come from her target. She pressed herself right up behind the door jam to hear better.

"Can't say I'm surprised to find you in a dump like this, MacCready." The man with the fauxhawk said in a condescending voice.

She heard MacCready click his tongue. "I was wondering how long it would take your bloodhounds to track me down, Winlock." He sounded young.

Frustrated with straining her ear against the door to catch barely audible sounds, Sole decided to just bite the bullet and let them see her. Maybe she could keep it low-key. She sauntered into the room quietly, pretending like she was interested in the artwork. She finally got a frontal view of MacCready, whose eyes immediately tracked her. Holy crap he was young! When Hancock said mercenary she imagined some middle-aged battle-seasoned soldier. Not this kid. She strut slowly to the first portrait on the right, faking interest. Winlock and the other man didn't even notice her presence.

Shifting his eyes back to the men, MacCready chortled. "It's been almost three months… don't tell me you're getting rusty. Should we take this outside?"

Sole swiped a dusty book off the shelf of an antique cabinet lying at the back and plopped down on the couch and pretended to read. MacCready was sitting down in a single chair with a bottle of wine and a foot crossed over his knee. He obviously wasn't very threatened by these men.

"It ain't like that. I'm just here to deliver a message." Winlock sneered.

"In case you forgot I left the Gunners for good." MacCready stood up.

"Yeah, I heard. But you're still taking jobs in the Commonwealth. That isn't going to work for us."

"I don't take orders from you" MacCready scoffed, shrugging his shoulders "not anymore. So why don't you take your girlfriend and walk out of here while you still can."

Oh shit. Things were about to get real! This was some juicy stuff. Sole leaned in gleefully, listening to the drama.

"What?! Winlock, tell me we don't have to listen to this shit…" Said the man in the beret with a whiny voice that in no way matched his intimidating appearance.

Winlock took a menacing step towards MacCready. Sole debated whether or not she should help him if it came down to it.

"Listen up MacCready" Winlock warned in a dark tone. "The only reason we haven't filled your body full of bullets is that we don't want a war with Goodneighbor. See we _respect_ other people's boundaries… We know how to play the game. It's something you never learned."

Throwing his arms out to the side MacCready followed in the most sardonic voice possible "Glad to have disappointed you."

Sole could tell his jovial attitude was pissing them off.

Winlock sneered, "you can play the tough guy all you want. But if we hear you're still operating inside Gunner territory, all bets are off. You got that?"

"You finished?"

"Yeah…we're finished. Come on Barnes."

The two men turned around to leave. Winlock noticed her presence for the first time and glared at her before taking off. When the two men were out of eyesight, MacCready turned his full attention to Sole and dropped his whimsical act.

"Look, lady. If you're preaching about the Atom, or looking for a friend, you've got the wrong guy. If you need a hired gun…then maybe we can talk" he said.

Sole snapped her book shut and stood up to return it to the shelf. "Oh I'm not here to try to convert you. Nor do I desire hugs." Spinning on her heel, she approached MacCready to get a better look at him. Up close he looked even younger. He had weary blue eyes but a youthful face, covered in scruff probably to make himself look older. Hints of chesnut hair poked out the sides of his olive cap. Well he definitely dressed the part of a merc she thought, as she noted the multiple compartments all over his attire built for housing multiple rounds of ammunition. Sole continued, "Why don't you tell me who those guys were first."

MacCready's eyes were piercing and distrustful, boring into hers. "A couple of morons looking to climb the ladder of success by stepping on everyone else on the way up. You shouldn't be surprised though, that's how it goes when you run with the Gunners."

"Never heard of the Gunners. Who are they?" She asked in all seriousness.

"They're one of the biggest gangs in the Commonwealth. Got a rep for being crazy…" he emphasized "you know, so tightly wound, you'd think they were a cult or something. Stuck with them for a while cause the money was good, but I never fit in. That's why I made a clean break and started flying solo." He explained. Tilting his head to the side he continued, "Now, what about you? How do I know I won't end up with a bullet in my back?"

Sole grinned "You don't. that's part of the risk, right?"

"Can't argue with that" he smirked back. "I'll tell you what. Price is 250 caps… up front. And there's no room for bargaining."

Holy flying hell! This little twerp's charging fee should have been illegal! She had just decided to save every cap she could too! A deep knot of anguish formed in her stomach at the realization that she was about to spend every damn cap she had on this guy. She knew she couldn't make it home without someone in her corner though.

MacCready seemed to have noticed her brain lapse as he waited for her answer, "So what do you say?"

"Everything's negotiable. Would you take 200?" She offered. Sole held eye contact with him. If this was a power struggle for caps, there is no way in hell she could afford to lose.

MacCready broke the stare-off by rolling his eyes. "You drive a hard bargain, but you just bought yourself an extra gun. All right, boss…Let's get out of here."

He reached down to pick up a sniper rifle that was hiding behind his chair and slung it over his shoulder. Yes! Now she wouldn't die on her way back home…Hopefully. Grateful for her newly established companionship, she let out a short burst of laughter as she smacked him in the stomach. He doubled over with an _oomph_!

"I am looking forward to staying alive, MacCready. Oh and you don't need to call me boss, that was my father's name." She joked. "Call me Sole."

"Whatever you say, boss."


	3. Chapter 3: Babysitter

How to Hug a Deathclaw

 **-Notes-**

Fun Fact: MacCready loves rock and roll. Also I'm not kidding about his age, I really wish I were. According to the wiki page, that's what Bethesda says it is.

Please review, you will make my day!

 **Chapter 3: Babysitter**

Ho-ly hell. When MacCready accepted Sole's caps that fateful day in Goodneighbor, he entered in with the assumption that she knew how to use a goddamn gun. She might as well have been closing her eyes and randomly shooting with the way she was aiming, or rather missing, at everything. When she got frustrated with bullets, she would just throw her gun to the side, take out her knife and start slashing at whatever attacked them! Threw it to the side! Like a barbarian! How she even made it this far was beyond him. The only thing going for her was her element of surprise. Had raiders not been confused by her absolutely psychotic behavior, charging at 7 of them who were heavily armed with only knife, then her approach would have definitely been the cause of her demise. Lucky for her, he had fast reflexes and a rapid trigger finger. It definitely would definitely save her ass like 90% of the time.

Even right now, they were sneaking up on a raider camp holed up in one of the Boston homes, speak of the devil. Sole insisted on going this way, claiming she knew the way back to Diamond City. She was wrong, of course. MacCready had made the trip numerous times, but would she listen? No.

"Okay MacCready here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna go in and quietly kill these guys on the ground floor. There's a turret up on the adjacent house so I want you to take it out. I think there's a guy up there also, if you could get him too that'd be great." Sole whispered, readying her combat knife.

He already knew that concepts such as 'stealth' and 'planning' were lost on her. This was going to be fun. "Boss, we're in a terrible location right now. I need to be up higher in order to have the advantage." He explained.

Sole smiled and patted his shoulder comfortingly, "I'm sure you'll do fine."

MacCready furrowed his brow. It's okay. Breathe in. Breathe out.

" _Listen_. I don't want to die here okay? Here's a better plan. We find a way up to the top of the building over there-"he pointed to another building that would have a good view of the camp, "and kill them all from afar before they knew what hit them."

She followed his fingers to the building and scrunched her face up in consternation. *sigh* He could basically tell what she was thinking: 'Eh, too far. It'll take too long.'

"Eh, it's too far. It'll take too long." She complained.

"You know what else is fun when it's longer?" MacCready asked with the most sarcastic tone he could muster.

"Your dick?"

"What? No! What? Your life! What's wrong with you?"

She clapped her hands to his mouth as she shushed him. Quickly poking her head around the corner to make sure none of the raiders had heard them, she turned back towards MacCready. They were safe still. They continued in hushed voices.

"MacCready how old are you?" Sole leaned in, interrogating.

He despised that question. Even though he physically could not speed up time faster, whenever someone heard his age, nothing else he said mattered. It was as if that somehow disqualified his skill.

He sighed in resignation, "22. Why do you ask?"

"Geez, you really are a twerp. Okay, well seeing as I have 3 years on you, we're going to go with my plan."

"That's not even a valid reason!" He hissed.

She waved her hand in some sort of weird signal and then took off from their hiding place before he could stop her. Dammit! He huffed in frustration and readied his sniper, leaning up against the corner of the brick wall. He could see Sole out of the corner of his eye as he peaked around. She was nearing the entrance of the first floor. There was only one guy inside, and one on patrol in the alley separating the two buildings. If she did this right, it could work. MacCready was placing another another .308 in the chamber when…

CLANG!

MacCready spun his head around towards where Sole was. He could see her shocked expression as she fumbled with a pot, but more importantly, so could the raider. Shit! The raider twisted around and lifted his gun to eye level pointing directly at his boss.

BANG! MacCready was faster. The raider's head blew clean off, splattering blood all over Sole, who had, in a panic, rushed towards the raider in hopes of killing him first. They heard a mechanical whirring and Sole sprung back, to hug the wall. _Ratatatat!_ The turret's machine gun went off at the ground level where Sole was and he heard two shots from a hunting rifle, which he could only assume came from the patrol.

So much for a quiet approach.

Sliding out of the corner so that he could see the turret, MacCready steadied his aim through the scope and shot it. It exploded into a heap of scrap and flames. Raiders never could get nice things anyway. The patrol woman finally seemed to take notice of him because she stopped firing at Sole and started firing at him. Bullets grazed the edge of the wall he crouched behind. The raider then ran to a little shack across the narrow alleyway. He took his chances and bolted inside the house across, feeling a bullet whiz by his cap. Crouching, he looked around. Where the hell was Sole? When he heard another bullet hit the window sill, he whipped his gun back up. He didn't have the time to play babysitter right now.

Interestingly enough, the first thing he saw when he looked through his scope was a flash of a little blue vault suit sneaking up on the patrol woman from behind. Dunno when she managed to creep out of the house, but right as she was tiptoeing up next to the unsuspecting raider, he pulled the trigger. BANG! He sniped the head clean off her before Sole could. He smiled. She was clearly not happy with her new shower of gore.

"MACCREADY STOP STEALING MY KILLS!" She bellowed, throwing down her knife in frustration.

"You gotta be faster boss!" He called back, loading more rounds in his sniper. The house shook with a low rumble. He froze. They weren't alone.

Staying low, MacCready dashed out of the house and across the alley to the shack corner where Sole was. Her face was so red with anger, or blood, or both. How cute. Apparently she hadn't heard the movement because she opened her mouth to yell at him but he pressed a finger to her lips, mouthing 'Shh! Listen!'

Silence. But it was an uncomfortable silence; the one that made your skin crawl. Then they heard a clicking, like the fastening of clasps, followed by a thud so loud that it shook the ground. Something had just jumped down from the second story of the building they were just in, but what? Or who? The pair peeked their heads around the corner. The footsteps grew louder. Hydraulics. MacCready released Sole, his fears becoming reality as a raider in a full-bodied power armor suit came charging towards them from the opposite end of the alley.

He and Sole glanced at each other simultaneously. He was hoping she would have the same fearful look that meant 'run' as he did, but was surprised when he saw her look of wild excitement.

"This one's mine!" She pulled out a grenade. His eyes widened at the impending danger as she coiled her arm back. "You won't kill him before me!"

"Stop! Don't throw that! We're in an alley you crazy lady!" He yelled at her as the thunderous footsteps rapidly encroached upon them. Too late. She pulled the pin and threw.

They bolted. When it went off, they were at the edge of the blast radius, and were thrown forward. Apparently the grenade she used wasn't terribly powerful seeing as his ears weren't ringing that badly. As the dust settled around them, MacCready grabbed his throbbing head. Sole was still sprawled on the ground but managed to turn herself over with a pained expression.

"You-why are you so crazy?" He managed to cough out as he stood up.

"That's not how you pronounce awesome" she groaned, closing her eyes. He extended an arm to her, which she accepted, and pulled her to her feet. He started dusting the rubble off her suit as she adjusted her armor. She reached up to brush the debris off his cap.

"Well that's one way to kill 'em." He chortled at the ridiculousness of their situation. I guess it wasn't all that bad. They were alive after all. At least he was most definitely assured that their time together wouldn't be boring.

Sole's lips curled into a smile, "Yeah I guess so."

Once they had gotten themselves situated, the two swept the now empty building of any valuables it had: just some ammo and a few caps on the bodies. What a waste. He noticed her shoving some random junk into her bag. What for? He hadn't a clue. Probably going to make an altar and pray to the loony gods or something. Slinging their packs on their back, MacCready and Sole exited the way they came.

As they were walking away, MacCready spoke first, "Next time, let's go with my plan before you go off on another suicide run. Are you ready to listen to me now? If you want to go to Diamond City, we've been traveling in the wrong direction for the past three miles."

"I know where I'm going!" Sole stubbornly protested "You should learn to respect your elders, you little twerp."

"At least I'm a twerp that knows how to shoot."

"I know how to shoot!"

He laughed. Oh, he laughed. He laughed so hard that he doubled over and wiped a mock tear from his eye. He kept laughing for a good solid minute as Sole's face turned red with embarrassment. She glared at him.

"Ha ha. Oh man! That's a good one. Well, thank goodness you're pretty."

Sole's head reeled back appalled, mouth dropping in horror at this insult. She was only stunned momentarily before socking MacCready's arm with all of her strength. He flinched away from the pain but continued laughing.

"You're so rude! I didn't pay you to be rude!" She hollered.

MacCready rubbed his arm, still trying to suppress a fit of giggles as they walked off into the sunset.

"Sure. Whatever you say boss."


	4. Chapter 4: Mayor of Babyville

How to Hug a Deathclaw

 **-Notes-**

Maybe this will just be a dumping ground for all my dad jokes/pick-up lines. I might scrap this story. I haven't decided yet.

 **Chapter 4: Mayor of Babyville**

"Alright aim…" MacCready ordered, pacing behind Sole as she lay on the ground with his rifle. "And shoot."

BAM!

The bulled whizzed between two of the tin can targets they had been using. Sole cursed under her breath. After stopping at Diamond City, the duo had begun to make their way back to Sanctuary Hills. After much pleading from MacCready, she reluctantly accepted his offer to teach her how to shoot. Monitoring her behavior on the open road, MacCready began to realize that he just didn't understand her tactics before. Yes, it still baffled him when she charged at enemies like a mad woman, but in the end she always managed to make the kill. However, he felt it was important for her to learn how to shoot targets from afar. Safer that way.

MacCready got down to ground. Throwing his arm over her shoulders, he leaned half his torso on top of her. Hands adjusted the positioning of the rifle, as he leaned the side of his face next to hers to make sure her scope was leveled correctly.

"Geez MacCready, at least take me to dinner first" Sole muttered from under him, keenly aware of his stubble brushing up against her cheek and the distinct lack of space between them. She wiggled her soft little body under him to get him to move when he pushed her shoulder down with his hand.

"Ha ha. Do you want to learn this or not? We got to watch each other's backs out there and this is me saving your a-butt" he stuttered, twisting his head to change his words. Sole glanced at him.

"Wow, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" she asked slowly as if he were a baby.

"Only on Fridays" he retorted with a grin. Leveling his gaze with hers, he pointed at the tin can in the distance. "You're not just looking at your target; you're looking through your target. Imagine the bullet is going to pass right through them, like a straight line."

Sole looked ahead. She could do this. She took a deep breath in through her nose, and out through her mouth. Her muscles stilled. Looking through the can to the other side of the fields, she pulled the trigger.

BAM!

It knocked over.

BAM! BAM!

She knocked down the other two.

Excited she bounced her hands against the ground and tried to roll out from under MacCready, just as he was getting up. Well when she did this, she knocked over the hand he was using to support himself and he tumbled back down on top of her.

"I did it! I did it! That was so awesome! I am so cool! Did you see how cool I am? Praise me MacCready" she gushed, apparently not even caring about their precarious predicament. She felt him stiffen against her for a moment as he felt the soft swell of her breasts press into him before he rapidly stumbled to get up.

When he got to his feel he turned away from her, "Yeah yeah, I guess you were pretty good for a spaz" he awkwardly complimented. He adjusted the hem of his duster as Sole floundered to her feet.

She walked up to him and poked his side, which caused him to writhe at her touch. Within a few days of getting to know him, she already found all of his weak points. He was _very_ ticklish.

"I wouldn't have been able to do it if the prestigious Mayor of Babyville wasn't such an amazing teacher."

MacCready sighed, "I'm going to regret telling you that aren't I?"

"Definitely. I'm already compiling the list of baby jokes as we speak."

Then they continued on their way, back on the long road to Sanctuary Hills. And that was the beginning of thousands of bad puns and dad jokes that were to come.

* * *

"Boss? Boss where are you?" MacCready called, scanning every house as he walked down the boulevard of Sanctuary Hills.

Piper happened to be walking by just then. When she got a better look at MacCready, she burst out laughing, "Hey there Mac, what-what happened to your hat there?"

He truly was a sight to behold as he cast her an irritated look. Fluffy, light brown hair sticking up in all directions made him look like he was just electrocuted or something. If anything, it certainly took about 5 years of his perceived age.

"Sole took it _again_. I don't know what happened. One moment, she was staring at me, batting her manipulative eyes in order to draw me in. Then, she took it and ran!" he hollered, smoothing his poof of hair down with his hands.

Piper folded her arms and gave him a quizzical look, stifling her laughter, "Sole is a kleptomaniac, you know that. If you have something, she wants it."

"I know _that_ … I just didn't think it was my hat she was after." He muttered in frustration, eyes still darting around for her.

Ugh what was she doing to him? Playing with him. Taking advantage of him. Such a devious little devil she was. She would open her eyes as large as she could when she wanted something and gently grab his forearm, scooting closer, snug vault suit accentuating her-

No. _No_ way was he going there.

Piper smiled at the pouting MacCready and gave him a sympathetic pat on the back as she started to walk away. Turning her chin over her shoulder he called, "Sorry about Blue, but don't worry you'll find her. You are the Mayor of Babyville after all."

MacCready's face fell.

"SOLE!"

From a nearby rooftop, an unrestrained cackling filled the air. He twisted his attention towards the noise and stormed up to the house, folding his arms and tapping his foot. Sole poked her head into view… with his cap. It was a little too big for her as it slid down over her eyes causing her to push it up.

"Hey there stranger!" she called, "you come here often? I wouldn't forget a face like that *snigger* or hairstyle. Oh man I can't take it anymore, I'm dying!" Sole clutched her stomach and rolled around on the top of the broken roof in laughter.

"Har har, you're a regular comedian. Hi dying, I'm MacCready. Can I please have my hat now?"

Sole smiled playfully down at him, leaning her cheek against the ball of her palm. "Nah I think it looks good on me, I'm going to keep it."

"That's it I'm coming up there." MacCready decided. The whole way back to Sanctuary had only taken about a week from Goodneighbor, but apparently that was enough time for Sole to decide it was okay to tease him. They had a good back and forth. Hell, they could probably have started their own slapstick comedy routine at the Dugout. Too bad they were both terrible at keeping in their laughter. They were just a couple of two dorks that had to catch their breath after a couple of corny jokes.

Like that one time they were at the edge of a city and he got absolutely ecstatic over a rusted out bike that was lying on the side of the road. It had fallen because it was two tired, or so he told Sole, then proceeded to laugh so hard at his own joke he snorted through his nose, fell to his knees, and made Sole wait a solid minute before he was ready to go again.

MacCready planted his hands on the metal foundation railings of the house and began to climb up.

"That's cheating!" Sole squealed as his fluffy head came into view.

Stabilizing his position so as not to fall off the severely slanted part of the roof, he scrambled up to the flattened part where Sole was laying. Scooting to the farthest possible corner without falling off, Sole snatched the hat off her head and reached it out as far as her little arms could reach. The roof creaked under his weight as he crawled over to where she was, looking up at her through lowered eyes, like a predator stalking his prey. As much as she tried, MacCready was still a good deal taller than her, and snatched his hat right out from her outstretched thieving fingers.

With a _hmmf_ , he placed his cap righteously back on his head, hiding his chestnut fluff. Sole was still unsuccessfully trying to restrain her giggles as she resigned and plopped down on the roof, staring up at the afternoon sky.

"You forget, I am used to dealing with kids and their pranks. You got nothing on me" MacCready asserted proudly, adjusting all the angles of his disheveled duster.

"I could never forget the mayor of Babyville."

"Heh, you just won't let that go will you?"

"Neverrrrr"

MacCready glanced over at her from under the rim of his hat. She was just kinda lying there with a dorky smile on her face, arms splayed out, completely defenseless. It almost bugged him that she could be so vulnerable. If he was a different type of guy, she would have easily been taken advantage of. But he wasn't, so he lay down beside her and stared off into the endless expanse of orange sky.

It was so serene up there on that rooftop. Closing his eyes, he could hear the distant caws of radcrows and mutgulls. It was the first time in a long while he had felt so calm. When he was in Goodneighbor he was always looking over his shoulder, watching out for a potential assassin sent by the Gunners. It wasn't a great way to live. Too much suspicion, too much fear. It had turned him into a jaded prick, never trusting anyone. Until now. He looked over to Sole who was now closing her eyes. He watched the rise and fall of her chest and the lightly parted plush of her lips. It definitely wasn't because she was this knockout beauty with a plump ass that swindled him out of 50 caps…

"Nice to be on the open road. Goodneighbor was starting to wear out its welcome" he struck up a conversation.

Sole opened her eyes and looked at him next to her, "What makes you say that?"

"Goodneighbor was a good place to look for work, but a crappy place to hang your hat" he explained, also turning his head to lock eyes with hers, "Let's put it this way. Can't get much rest when you're sleeping with one eye open. Still, it was the best place for me to set up shop. Diamond City's goons would have run me out of town and wandering the Commonwealth _alone_ isn't the brightest plan when you're hard up for caps."

He poked her side as he said this, referring to her "pre-merc" state.

She wiggled away from his touch, "Setting up shop? What do you mean?"

MacCready tilted his head as he adjusted his gaze back to the sky. "I needed somewhere to hang out so that people could find me when they required my services. The folks in Goodneighbor tended not to ask too many questions which suited my needs. So-" he sighed, "I made a deal with Hancock and started waiting for the caps to roll in."

She stared at him thoughtfully, "Hmm, in times like these, caps make little sense. I mean, we are taking the tops off soda bottles for gods sakes!" She was a little surprised when his eyebrows twitched in irritation.

"They might make little sense to you, but right now, I need every cap I can get."

"Are caps really that important to you?"

"I don't have much of a choice."

Sole sat up in order to get a better look at his face. The playful mood between them had turned serious as a shadow covered his brow.

MacCready continued, "I don't usually go around sharing stuff like this, but you've been pretty straight with me, so I'm going to be straight with you." He turned on his side, propping up his head with his hand and rested his elbow against the roof. "It's those two assh…those two idiots you saw me talking to at the Third Rail, Winlock and Barnes. They've been hounding me for months and it's been driving off clients. No one wants to touch me once they learn I used to run with the Gunners. And I figured if I get enough caps together, maybe I could buy them out."

Sole placed her hand on his chest and dragged her fingers down, "oh MacCready…I will touch you all you want if that's what you're after" she flirted. He sighed and lightly pushed her hands off his chest. She frowned. He was being really serious. "How many caps do you need?"

"I'm not sure. Honestly, that's not even what concerns me the most. I'm wondering how I'm going to pull it off. Winlock and Barnes have a small army of Gunners with them at all times. They might decide to just keep the caps and put a bullet in my head for good measure. If I set up a place to meet them, I'm sure they'd roll in with everyone they've got. Unless…" he trailed off as he turned his pensive eyes towards Sole.

She blinked, "what?"

"Maybe you and I could pay them a little visit and put an end to them before they realize what's going on" he offered. "And before you get that look on your face, let me just say that I wouldn't even be asking if I didn't trust you."

"I think you are a poor judge of character MacCready" she smirked at him.

"Hey now-"

"If you need my help, I'm there" Sole accepted his offer. "Let's go kick some Gunner ass."

MacCready sat up so quickly that Sole almost lost her balance but he stabilized her by grabbing her arm. His eyes were wide with hope, just like a little boy.

"Wow…I don't know what to say" he breathed.

"A 'thank you master,' would be nice."

"Ha ha. Truth is, I haven't been able to rely on anyone since I was a kid. Everyone I've met has either tried to rip me off or plant a knife in my back. But you. You're different. We see eye-to-eye on almost everything."

"Well actually we kind of see eye-to-neck more often" she retorted. Yes, always the jokes with that one.

He laughed, "Y'know I have a funny feeling you actually care about what happens to me. That's why I asked for your help. I'll tell you what. I'm going to make this easy on you-" He slung an arm over her shoulder as they sat side by side, like pals. "If you feel like helping me with this, head over to the Mass Pike Interchange and we'll take them down. If you don't, I'm not going to hold it against you. Either way, thanks for hearing me out. It's nice to know that you care."

It wasn't like he was trying to manipulate her into doing his dirty work for him. She was a capable, albeit questionable, fighter. She out of anyone would be able to help him.

His thoughts were interrupted as Sole placed a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. He blinked.

"'EY ARE YOU TWO KNUCKLE'EADS STILL UP ON DAT ROOF? YA NEED TO COME DOWN 'ERE, PRESTON IS PISSIN' DA HELL OUTTA ME WITH HIS SETTLEMENT CRAP!" came a very loud yell from down below that could only belong to the prize fighter Cait. He had seen her in the Combat Zone and was admittedly surprised when he found that she had befriended Sole. They were complete opposites.

Sole leapt up, out of his arm and quickly climbed down the structuring of the house. MacCready sat still for a while. A teeny tiny twinge of pink spread over the fullest parts of his cheeks. He smashed his face with his hands, trying to rub the embarrassment out of his skin. Ugh, what the hell?

"ARE 'YA STILL UP THERE MAYOR OF BABYVILLE? GET YER ARSE DOWN HERE!"

MacCready dropped his hands to his lap. Goddammit, she had already told everyone hadn't she?


	5. Chapter 5: Cuddles' Debut

How to Hug a Deathclaw

 **-Notes-**

I wasn't planning on continuing this series, but a lone guest comment made me rethink that. Out of all my series, this one is doing the worst and doesn't have that many follows/comments. But I'm a sap. As long as one person is encouraging me, how can I say no?

This scene takes place after the events in chapter 1. Also I fixed (what I thought was) a quest error in MacCready's quest dialogue.

 **Chapter 5: Cuddles' Debut**

"Onward!" chant Sole, who was sitting on the shoulders of her precious pet Cuddles.

MacCready grabbed the deathclaw's horns to keep him from falling off as it shook the ground with every running step it took.

"Are you sure this is safe?" he called over the whipping night winds.

"Absolutely not!"

Riding Cuddles was much faster than walking. It cut their projected time to the Mass Pike Interchange in half. Sole insisted that her pet needed "real life experience" and the best time she could think of doing that was when they were going to take down an entire group of trained killers. Good thinking Sole. Well at the least, it should work as an intimidation tactic because no one wants to face off against a deathclaw.

At least they were traveling under the cover of night. That made it much easier to snipe the gunners in secret once they got close enough. When Cuddles dropped them, MacCready and Sole took off in stealth mode through the long grass and took out most of the gunners. Cuddles stayed crouched in the grass, wiggling its butt like it was getting ready to play.

MacCready rolled his eyes, "Yeah, your pet is a real killer. Maybe you should've named him Slashy, or Ripper. Maybe then he'd live up to his name."

Sole shot him an offended look, "he just has cold feet! Just give him some time to warm up. I'm sure he'll come to!" she assured, holstering her gun. Then she called to Cuddles, "Come here buddy, come to mommy!"

Cuddles bolted towards her and tackled her to the ground. MacCready ignored their public display of affection and proceeded to scrounge the Gunner layout for an elevator of sorts. He made sure to check every dead chap's pockets for caps on the way. Can't forget that. He shoveled everything he could into his pockets before whistling to Sole.

Sole stood and jogged over to where MacCready was waiting on the elevator platform. Cuddles the deathclaw followed. The elevator strained at the weight. MacCready clicked the button again. Nothing. MacCready gave Cuddles a look of disapproval. Then, after hitting the button once more, the elevator lurched upwards. Sole and MacCready crouched into attack position, readying their rifles.

"Winlock and Barnes are the ones we need to kill. They'll be up here somewhere with the commander." MacCready whispered.

"Got it. Ugly and uglier" she replied.

"Alright, this is probably the biggest mission you've been on only using a gun. You think you can handle it?"

Sole grinned confidently to him, "definitely."

She couldn't.

Apparently coming through the front door of the gunner hideout wasn't the best idea after all. As soon as the gunners spotted the not so inconspicuous deathclaw, they all started firing at once. Unfortunately an assaultron was also rather close to where they entered and immediately lunged at them with sharp claws. Sole let out a high-pitched squeal and hit it with the butt of her gun. Geez…

MacCready whipped up his gun and aimed at the Assaultron's legs as he continuously backed up. Within seconds the assaultron was down. However! Instead of dealing the execution shot, Sole thought it would be a brilliant idea to keep hitting it in the head like a cavewoman.

"Your gun" MacCready hissed as loudly as he could to be heard over the plethora of bullets whizzing past the bus they ducked behind. Sole nodded and whipped her gun around to kill the robot. She dashed over where he squatted and patted him on the knee. He lifted his gun and shot three grunts that were coming up on them from the other side of the overpass. "Barnes should be this way."

MacCready was almost excited. As he easily took out two more gunners he wondered why he ever ran with these weaklings. With just a two person team, the duo was easily sweeping the floor with them. Yes, just a two person team because Cuddles decided it would sit in the dormant elevator and just watch everything transpire. Some debut.

Bam! Another gunner dead. Bam! Another one. He was so close to Barnes he could barely contain himself. Sole was starting to lag behind, ducking between cars and providing a nice line of cover fire for him when the gunners got too close to him. It worked. She hit the close targets, he hit the far.

Then the tip of Barnes' beret came into view through MacCready's scope. Barnes was looking around for the killers but couldn't find him. MacCready could have easily taken him through the windows of the hollowed out car, but where was the fun in that? So he climbed up to the top of the car and called,

"Hey Barnes!" Barnes looked up at him and started to raise his gun. "Suck on this!" MacCready already had his gun ready before Barnes could fumble with his. Blew his head right off. Oh man that felt good. Now that the henchman was dead, time to go for the boss: Winlock.

The two turned around to clear the other half of the interchange, looting the trailer of its valuables. Cuddles sat lackadaisically on its rear, scratching its bum head with its foot. Sole waved enthusiastically at him. The second MacCready locked eye contact with him though, Cuddles growled. How uncalled for!

"Useless" he muttered.

"Don't talk about him that way" Sole scolded, smacking him in the stomach.

Sole and MacCready ducked behind another row of cars at the other half of the overpass and monitored the remaining gunners that were yelling at each other to find the infiltrators. There were only two more gunners left, the commander in full power armor (she would be tough), and Winlock somewhere too. The duo looked at each other in silent agreement and stood up simultaneously to kill the gunner guards before they knew what hit them. MacCready then made a dash for the side of the interchange, trying to position himself for a shot at the commander's combat inhibitor. Meanwhile, Sole already had three grenades lined up. She threw them. It definitely confused the hell out of the commander, who shot randomly through the smoke to try to hit Sole.

Bam! MacCready landed a shot in her combat inhibitor. Instantly, her suit began to spark and whir. The commander quickly aborted her power armor and dove out of the way before it burst into flames.

"Damn you MacCready, I know it's you!" She screamed over the flames, black war paint smeared over her eyes menacingly. Sole jumped up out of her hiding place and leveled her rifle, tongue sticking out. Humans were much easier to kill without power armor. Just as she was positioning her shot, her thought process was interrupted by a voice.

"Hey there commander, miss me?" MacCready cooed. The commander whipped her face around angrily to the man who was sitting atop a crate. When she came face to face with the barrel of a sniper rifle, it was too late: Bam! Headshot.

MacCready hopped off the crate smiling, as a grumbling Sole threw her gun over her shoulder. She was murmuring something about it being 'her kill' but MacCready was just too elated to care.

"Hey there boss, why don't you take Winlock down then? I already killed Barnes and the commander, so I already got it out of my system" he offered.

Sole nodded, agreeing to the deal as they crouched back down into stealth mode to try to hunt down Winlock. There wasn't much freeway left so he couldn't be far. They eventually found their target near the edge of the destroyed bridge, guarding another elevator in case any other miscreants decided to join in. MacCready pulled Sole off to the side and pointed at the man with the obnoxiously edgy hairstyle and over muscled torso who was staring off in the distance. Then he pointed to her gun.

Grabbing her gun, Sole snuck out from behind a hollowed out car and began to slowly approach Winlock. What was she doing? He meant to shoot him from here. She gingerly stalked towards Winlock who was smoking a cigarette with her gun out. She was getting too close. MacCready stood up and wildly waved his arms, trying to silently get Sole's attention. It worked because she turned around and shot him a confused look. MacCready pointed exaggeratingly towards his gun.

'Use your gun from here!' He mouthed to her. Sole grinned confidently at MacCready and gave him a thumbs up in understanding. Phew.

However, as he should have known, it was a mistake. MacCready watched in silent horror as Sole crept up right behind Winlock with her gun out, raised it high above her head, and smacked him as hard as she could across the head. She used her gun like a baseball bat. Like. A. Baseball. Bat.

It didn't knock Winlock out, of course. He could've told her that. It did however, piss him off as he whipped his now-bleeding head around at the wide-eyed woman and shouted,

"What the fuck you little bitch!"

The man lunged towards Sole who had enough sense to bolt before he could touch her. Shit. MacCready rose his gun up. It was hard to get a good aim on a moving target.

"Cuddles!" Sole called.

Then the interchange started to shake with loud booms. Within seconds, Cuddles was charging towards their position. He knocked MacCready over on the way. Totally wasn't even in his way. He did it just because he could. Dick.

Cuddles then proceeded to grab the petrified man up with one hand and chuck him off the side of the interchange as far as it could. Winlock's cries got smaller and smaller as he descended into the distance. Holy crap! MacCready laughed at the ridiculousness of it all and dusted off his hands.

"Well, well Cuddles! We could've gotten this done a while lot sooner if you were helping us" MacCready joked in admiration at the ferocity of the beast. Cuddles barged up to MacCready, grabbed him with one hand, and started to reel its arm back. The realization that he was about to be thrown hit MacCready with a jolt as he cried out, kicking his legs frantically.

"No! Bad Cuddles, put him down!" Sole scolded, throwing herself in front of the deathclaw with open arms.

Cuddles obeyed and gently set MacCready down who shakily regained his balance and scooted away as far as he could from the deathclaw. Jesus, this thing was going to kill him once Sole wasn't around! He exchanged a distrustful glance with the beast and hopped on the elevator platform where Sole had gone to wait for them. She grabbed his arm protectively just in case Cuddles tried something again. MacCready glanced down. Her hands were totally checking him out. He smirked as he grinned smugly at her. But she wasn't looking at him at all; she was looking at Cuddles who guiltily climbed onto the opposite side of the platform in response to her reproachful gaze.

"Well, we killed the bullies that took your lunch money. What now?" Sole asked, finally glancing up at MacCready.

He puffed out his chest and replied, "This should send a message to the gunners to stay off my back."

Sole scanned the earth below with her gun ready before the elevator halted to a stop at the docking station. All clear.

"You aren't afraid the Gunners will retaliate?" She asked. Heh. She still wanted to get in some target practice. Such a cute bloodthirst.

MacCready slung his rifle across his back, "The way these lunatics act, you'd think they would… but I know better. For the Gunners, it's always about the bottom line. They just lost this entire waystation and that cost them big. Besides, they have no way of knowing I was involved."

Sole finally glanced her quizzical eyes back at him. "I thought the point was for them to know you were involved. If they didn't know it was you, how are they going to know to stay off your back?"

"There are no more gunners in this area. They're not going to send out more goons just to harass me all the way out here. The next nearest settlement they got is in Quincy, and that's miles away!" he shrugged. "Anyway, I guess I owe you a favor now. After all, you hired me but I'm the one that dragged you out here."

Sole finally gave up looking for enemies and shot him a mischievous smile that made men swoon. MacCready felt his heart skip a beat.

"Well, I wasn't about to let you have all this fun alone" she chuckled, lowering her voice seductively.

MacCready laughed, taking a few steps closer to her. "Ha ha, glad you enjoyed it." He put a hand on her back, "Tell you what. I'm going to give you back the caps you paid me in Goodneighbor. I'll still stick with you because that was part of the original deal, but now we're even. There you go"

MacCready fished out the money pouch Sole had given him weeks before and plopped it down into her hands. Sole coyly turned sideways and leaned back into MacCready, curling her head up his chest.

"Oh come now Mr. Mayor, we both know you're sticking around because you like me sooo much" she teased seductively. The hand not holding the pouch came up to stroke his chin. Man this woman and her wily charms.

"Pfft. I'm just here to make sure that you don't kill yourself. I mean… who the fu-hell hits guys over the head with their gun?"

"I the hell do!" She retaliated, spinning around to face him.

"It has bullets."

"I panicked!"

"And this is why I stay" MacCready asserted, playfully jostling her.

Sole turned around and folded her hands behind her back. In one swift movement, she planted a little kiss on the squishy part of his cheek.

"Thank you" she said with a smile. Gods that smile. Then, she bounded down to where Cuddles was so she could mount him, motioning for him to follow.

MacCready pulled his cap down over his face to hide the blooming red blush that had overtaken him. Well… maybe there were a few more reasons why he was staying.


End file.
